THREAT TO PRICELESS FREEDOMS

IMAGINE if two punters had a nasty fight in a pub. Who gets fined, or even nicked? Not the landlord. But that is what this Government clampdown threatens to do to social media bosses over a similar dust-up online.

With their ‘ duty of care’, well-meaning Ministers want the same laws to apply online as offline – but they risk dragging British citizens into a draconian censorship regime instead. And that is not the only concern I have with this White Paper.

I fear this sweeping clampdown on our brilliant tech sector will give succour to Britain’s enemies.

The internet is a huge force for good, allowing instant communication and access to information around the globe. Of course, it also has a dark side and it is right to crack down on its use by paedophiles, organised criminals and those who promote self-harm.

However, countries such as China, Russia and North Korea, which allow no political dissent and deny their people freedom of speech, are also keen to impose censorship online, just as they already do on traditional media.

This mooted new UK regulator must not give the despots an excuse to claim that they are simply following an example set by Britain, where civil liberties were first entrenched in Magna Carta 800 years ago. Any regulator must be genuinely independent of government, not run by faceless bureaucrats in Whitehall.

And its actions must be carefully targeted against those who are using the internet to promote harm.

This country is seen as a bastion of freedom around the world. Let us be very careful not to put that at risk.